<B>spear</B> (2), noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a sprout or shoot of a plant. <BR> <I>Ex. a spear of grass.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to sprout or shoot into a long stem; germinate. <BR> <I>Ex. Blades of grass speared out of the earth.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spearbeak">
<B>spear beak,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long, sharp beak, like that of a heron, that can be used to catch fish. </DL>
<A NAME="spearcrowfoot">
<B>spear crowfoot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a yellow-flowered spearwort introduced into Newfoundland and Nova Scotia from Europe. </DL>
<A NAME="spearfish">
<B>spearfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish,</B> verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> any one of various large, powerful, ocean fishes having a long, pointed beak or spear, related to the swordfishes and sailfishes; marlin: <DD><I>v.i. </I> to engage in spearfishing; fish with a spear or speargun. </DL>
<A NAME="spearfisherman">
<B>spearfisherman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> person skilled or engaged in spearfishing. </DL>
<A NAME="spearfishing">
<B>spearfishing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the sport of fishing with a spear or speargun. </DL>
<A NAME="speargrass">
<B>spear grass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various grasses with a spearlike leaf, flower cluster, or other part, such as the couch grass. </DL>
<A NAME="speargun">
<B>speargun, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an underwater weapon used to shoot steel darts at fish. It operates by spring action like a crossbow or by the expansion of compressed carbon dioxide gas. Spearguns are often used by scuba divers. </DL>
<A NAME="spearhead">
<B>spearhead, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the sharp-pointed striking end of a spear. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) the driving force in an attack or undertaking. <BR> <I>Ex. A spearhead of tanks and fighter planes led the infantry attack.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to lead or clear the way for; head. <BR> <I>Ex. the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment ... spearheaded the allied assault in Sicily (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spearman">
<B>spearman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a soldier or hunter armed with a spear. </DL>
<A NAME="spearmint">
<B>spearmint, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a common garden mint, a fragrant herb much used for flavoring. It yields a fragrant oil. </DL>
<A NAME="spearpoint">
<B>spearpoint, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the point of a spear; spearhead. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a person or thing that acts as a spearhead. <BR> <I>Ex. He was the spearpoint of the new power growing up in the rural areas (London Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>=spearhead.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="spearside">
<B>spear side,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the male line of descent. <BR> <I>Ex. Such and such qualities he got from a grandfather on the spear side (James Russell Lowell).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spearthistle">
<B>spear thistle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the common thistle with lance-shaped leaves. </DL>
<A NAME="spearwort">
<B>spearwort, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several crowfoots with lance-shaped leaves, such as the spear crowfoot. </DL>
<B>spec, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) speculation (def. 3). <BR><I>expr. <B>on spec,</B> </I>on speculation; with the hope of future benefit. <BR> <I>Ex. At seventeen, he wrote, on spec, a routine for Bob Hope that so deftly captured Hope's rhythms ... that Hope wanted to meet him (Adam Gopnik).</I> </DL>
<B>special, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of a particular kind; distinct from others; not general; certain. <BR> <I>Ex. money set aside for a special purpose, a special edition of a book. A play may be violent, full of motion; yet it has that special kind of repose which allows contemplation (Tennessee Williams).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>more than ordinary; unusual; exceptional. <BR> <I>Ex. special care, a matter of special importance.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>having a particular purpose, function, or use. <BR> <I>Ex. a special application of a theory. Send the letter by special messenger.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>belonging exclusively as to a person or thing. <BR> <I>Ex. a scholar's special field of knowledge, the special merits of a plan. Every country has its special attractions.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>held in high regard; great; chief. <BR> <I>Ex. a special friend, a special favorite.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>specific. <BR> <I>Ex. special instructions.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a special train, car, bus, or the like. <DD><B> 2. </B>any special person or thing. <DD><B> 3a. </B>a special edition of a newspaper. <DD><B> b. </B>a special article in or communication to a newspaper. <BR> <I>Ex. a Washington special.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S.) a specially featured product or service; sale. <BR> <I>Ex. This week's special is ham and eggs.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a television show, produced especially for a single broadcast, usually out of the pattern of regular daily or weekly programs. <BR> <I>Ex. In news and public affairs, specials were planned covering such subjects as air pollution, organized crime, air safety, drugs (S. Taishoff and R. W. Crater).</I> noun <B>specialness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="specialcheckingaccount">
<B>special checking account,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a checking account with no minimum balance required. </DL>
<A NAME="specialdelivery">
<B>special delivery,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the delivery of a letter or package by a special messenger rather than by the regular mail carrier. </DL>
<A NAME="specialdrawingrights">
<B>Special Drawing Rights</B> or <B>special drawing rights,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a monetary reserve of the International Monetary Fund from which member nations may draw credit in proportion to their contribution to the Fund; paper gold. (Abbr:) S.D.R. or S.D.R.s </DL>
<A NAME="specialeducation">
<B>special education,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the education of exceptional children. <BR> <I>Ex. Special education is for children and youth who are gifted, deaf, have social and emotional maladjustment or speech handcaps, and crippled children (Korea Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="specialeffects">
<B>special effects,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> illusory effects created by various techniques in a motion picture. </DL>
<A NAME="specialforces">
<B>Special Forces,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a unit of the U.S. Army whose members are trained in unconventional warfare, especially guerrilla and antiguerrilla fighting. </DL>
<A NAME="specialhandling">
<B>special handling,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the handling and sending of fourth-class postal matter (parcel post) at a faster than normal rate, for an additional fee. </DL>
<A NAME="specialinterestgroup">
<B>special-interest group,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of people seeking to protect their interests, especially by means of a lobby. <BR> <I>Ex. I deplore nothing more than this fragmentation of our democratic society into special-interest groups--labor, farmers, business (Adlai E. Stevenson).</I> </DL>
